Police Say Man Shot By Officer Claimed He Had Weapon

The Elk Grove Police Department has released a preliminary report on their internal investigation into the shooting of an unarmed domestic violence suspect by an officer Sunday.

The report contains new details of the early-morning incident, in which 32-year-old John Hesselbein received minor injuries when an officer shot at him with a rifle while Hesselbein was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car.

According to police, Hesselbein shouted that he had a gun in the moments before he was shot, and appeared to be reaching inside his waistband for a weapon when the officer, whom police have not yet named, opened fire.

The report also says that officers had been briefed on Hesselbein’s “violent and gang history” when they arrived at his home on Callippe Way in response to a call from his wife.

Hesselbein’s wife, Nicole Hesselbein, earlier this week she called police because she feared for the safety of her two-year-old daughter. The girl was in the house with John Hesselbein when he began going beserk, throwing objects and turning the lights on and off, just hours after allegedly assaulting his wife, police say.

When police surrounded the house, the new report says, they “saw Hesselbein take a shooting position,” and verbally threaten an officer.

After taking Hesselbein into custody, police searched him for weapons before placing him in the car, the report says. Hesselbein then “suddenly started shouting that he had a gun and made quick movements as if he did,” according to the report.

Ignoring officers’ orders to stop moving, Hesselbein “reached below the backside of his waistband where his hands were in his pants, positioning as if he was aiming a weapon,” police state. It was then that one of the officers who had taken up positions surrounding the car fired a single round at Hesselbein, grazing his face, the report says.

No weapons were found on Hesselbein or in the car, the report says.

Hesselbein’s attorney, Tasha Paris, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hesselbein was released from jail on bail Thursday and faces charges of domestic violence and violating a protective order. While the police recommended charges of vandalism and battery against a police officer—charges police say stem from his conduct at the hospital after he was shot—those charges didn't appear to have been filed Thursday, according to the Sacramento County Superior Court database.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s office is also investigating the incident, the first officer-involved shooting since the department formed in 2006. The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigations, department spokesperson Officer Chris Trim said.